Folding door



April 14, 1931. w BROWN 1,801,220

FOLDING noon Filed March 14, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A R QR 1% April 14,1931. w BROWN 1,801,220

FOLDING DOOR Filed March 14, 1929 2 Sheets-She et 2 g I I.

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Patented Apr. 14, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDWIN W. BROWN, OFSUNBURY, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ON E-HALF T0 CHARLES J. REITZ, OFSUNBURY, PENNSYLVANIA FOLDING DOOR Application filed March 14, 1929.Serial No. 347,035.

This invention relates to afolding closure such as'a' door and iscapable of use generally. It is particularly aimed to provide a novelconstruction which is in sections adapted to fold overhead automaticallyand unfold automatically, as the same is moved manually.

A further object is to provide a novel control element carried by thedoor frame to coact with rollers or parts of the door sections to effectthe folding and unfolding of the door.

It is also aimed to provide a novel construction wherein an improvedlocking and adjusting means forthe door is provided.

Various additional objects and advantages will become apparent from aconsideration of the description following taken in connection withaccompanying drawings illustrating an operative embodiment.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a view in front elevation illustrating thedoor in its closed condition, parts being broken away to disclosedetails,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3".3 of Figure1, i

Figure 4: is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the sameplane as Figure 2 showing the door partly folded,

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing the door furtherfolded,

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of Figure 4, and

Figure 7 is a detail sectional view taken on th line 7-7 of Figure 1.

Referring specifically to the drawings,

wherein like reference characters designate like or similar parts, asuitable door'frame is provided which by way of example may be metallicas-disclosed generally at 10 and'havl ing for instance side members ofhollow form as at 11, a sill 12 of wood or metal connecting them and across member or transom 1,3 housing a cross bar 14, which may be ofwood. Fastened overhead to the side members 11 are end Walls 15 and aninclined wall 16, jointly forming a housin to aid in accommodating thedoor in its folc ed condition. 1

' The door consists of a plurality of sections sides of the fulcrum ofsuch lever pitmen 22 are pivotally connected which are also pivotallyconnected to latches 23 pivoted at 24 to the lowermost section 17.

The latches 23 are adapted for engagement in various notches 25 providedin latch flanges 26 extending from the hollow uprights 11. When thelatches are engaged in notches 25, the lever 21 is in the position shownin Figures l and 3, the same having a U-shaped portion 28 adapted tosurround the adjacent pitman and which is provided with openings 29which may receive the shackle of a padlock or the like. 7

In order to normally urge the door sections to folded position andbalance them, flexible elements such as chains 30 are located in thehollow uprights 11, being fastened to pins 31 on the lowermost section17 and being trained over guide pulleys 33 within such uprights andhaving counter-balancing weights 34 fastened to their free ends.

The uppermost section 17 is hinged as at 35 to the bar 1 1 and with theexception of the uppermost hinge or pintle 18, the other pintles 18 haverollers 36 j ournaled thereon and which are adapted to travel on thewall 16, uprights 37 opposite the walls or flanges 26 and the innersurfaces of such flanges.

Pivoted as at 38 to portions of the uprights 37 above the member 16, arecontrol dogs 39 of ashape to insure the proper holding andsuperimposition in a horizontal plane, of the door sections 17 as theyare moved upwardly, and to control the release and lowering of saidsections 17, successively, as the door is pulled downwardly. Inmanipulating the door, the lever 21 may constitute a handle or handles.

The unfolding of the sections is the reverse to tion after unlatchingthe elements 23, the

uppermost section 17 will substantially move to horizontal position asshown in Figure 4 without affecting the position of thecontrol members39, because the uppermost pivot 18 has no roller 36 thereon.

However, the rollers carried by the section 17 next to the top, willengage the cam surface 44, and in View of the point 41, project thepoint 40 from the position shown in Figure 2 to that shown in Figures 4and 5 such roller gradually moving off of point 41 into cam surface 45which sustains it and the roller below it in the meantime havingcontacted with the cam surface 47 and moved along the same and along adepression 48 in the wall 16, eventually engaging the point 43 andthereby retracting the control element and moving into and beingsustained by cam sur-v face 46 so that the succeeding roller 36 may moveto the position of the uppermost roller shown in Figure 4 and asucceeding section fold in the manner described for the preceding one.In this way, the sections are successively folded in superimposedrelation in horizontal planes, after which they are locked in thatrelation by bringing the latches 23 into engagement with the propernotches 25.

the movement set forth.

Attention is called to the fact that the lowermost rollers 36 arejournaled on the pins 31 and that the latter are guided in verticalelongated slots 49 provided in the adjacent 4 upright walls of thehollow frame members 11. 1 The unfolding movement of the door is theopposite of course to that described for the raising or foldingmovement.

Various changes may be resorted to provided they fall within the spiritof the invention. I i I claim as my invention 1. A device of the classdescribed comprising a plurality of closure sections, means and scopepivoting said sections together, projections 55. v nately coact withsuccessive two adjacenton said pivoting means, and a pivoted controlelement. having cam surfaces to alterprojections whereby the sectionsbetween said projections are folded on one another.

2. A device of the class described comprising a plurality of doorsections pivoted together, pivot members connecting adjacent sections,projections on said pivotmembers, a pivoted control element, saidelement having cam surfaces alternately engageable by projection ondifferent portions of the same section in order to move the same to afolded position.

3. A device of the class described comprising a plurality of doorsections pivotally connected together, a pivoted control element, saidelement having a surface engageable by one portion of two adjacent doorsections, to vary the position of the element and then release theelement, said element'having another surface positioned through saidmovement and engageable by another portion of two adjacent sections tofacilitate folding thereof to then restore the element to normalposition.

4. A device of the class described comprising a door hinged at its top,said door consisting of sections, each, section overlapping a portion ofthe section below it and adjacent its lower edge being pivoted thereto,pivot members being extended, control elements engageable with the pivotmembers, said control elements having cam portions engageable one at atime by different projections of adjacent sections and being controlledas to operative position by said projections. s V

5. A device of the class described comprising a door hinged at its top,said door'consisting of sections, each section overlapping a portion ofthe section below it and adjacent its lower edge being pivoted thereto,pivot members being. extended, control elements engageable with thepivot members, said control elements having cam portions engageable oneat a time by different projections of adjacent sections and beingcontrolled as .to operative position by said projections, a framemounting said door, and an overhead casing on the frame to accommodatethe door sections in their folded condition.

6. A device of the class described comprising a door hinged at its top,said door consisting .of sections, each section overlapping a portion ofthe section below it and adjacent its lower edge being pivoted thereto,pivot members being extended, control elements engageable with the pivotmembers,

,said control elements having cam portions engageable one at a time byprojection of the same section and being controlled as to operativeposition by said projection, a frame mounting said door, and an overheadcasing on the frame to accommodate the door sections in their foldedcondition, locking flanges on the frame. r

7. A device of the class described comprising a door hinged at its top,said door consisting of sections, each section overlapping a portion ofthe section below it and adjacent its lower edge being pivoted thereto,pivot members being extended, control elements engageable with the pivotmembers, said control elements having cam'portions engageable one at atime by projection of the same section and'being controlled as to opfit)erative position by said projection, a frame mounting said door, anoverhead casing on the frame to accommodate the door sections in theirfolded condition, locking flanges on the frame, hollow uprights fromwhich the flanges extend, said uprights having elongated slots, guidemeans extending from the lowermost door section and occupying saidslots, and counter-balancing means connected to said guide means andlocated in said hollow elements.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

EDWIN W. BROWN.

